by R. S. Smith
“Which one of you is Laura?” asked a curious Karlee.
“I am,” said another harmless-looking woman, this one petite build, with short brunette hair.
“Alexei sends his regards,” she said.
“That bastard! I knew he was lying. So you've been to that old castle of his?”
“He was just being discrete, hon. He wouldn't tell us much about you either, and yes, we both have, Kristie's husband and sister-in-law, too. We all fought off a terrorist attack together. I spent a year training there,” said Karlee.
Then Ashley spoke up. “We crossed paths when I was doing my thesis research on Sonny Sinclair. Uncle Peter got me into the film-shoot at his estate.”
“Peter the producer?” asked a sister.
“Yeah.”
“Geez.”
“I'm feeling left out,” pouted young Julie. “You all have stuff in common 'cept for me.”
“We didn't come here to patronize you. We're looking for a missing person and Alexei indicated you might be able to help,” said Karlee.
“Sorry, we're under house-arrest,” said Renée. “I mean Palace-arrest.”
“We might be able to work something out,” interjected Pepper. “It involves something of interest to the CIA, an anti-government militia in the Colorado foothills.”
“Oh, I see,” said Renée. “Pepper knows that we've all shared a little cabin up in those foothills, everyone but Julie. I've had run-ins with gun-runners. It ended badly for them,” she bragged, continuing to eye both sisters with a great degree of interest. “Who is this missing person?”
Kristie pulled out the photo their dad had given them. The group passed it around. Julie, the youngest and newest addition to the group, was last as usual.
“Oh...oh my,” she said. “I don't feel left out anymore. I know who this is!”
“No you don't!” exclaimed the sisters in united disbelief.
“Feeling an unfamiliar sense of empowerment, Julie asked “What's in it for me?”
“That's just bullshit, kid. We're wasting our time here,” said Karlee, getting up to leave.
Renée pushed her back down onto the sofa. “Julie doesn't bullshit, sweetheart. Shut-up and listen.” She nodded for the kid to continue.
“Her name is Kacey!” Julie proudly showed off.
Both sisters' mouths dropped open with the stunning revelation. The room grew silent, waiting for the next shoe to drop.
“Of course, it's going to cost you for more,” said a cocky Julie.
Although the sisters had been told that Renée was a master manipulator a la Charles Manson, what they didn't realize was that she was every bit as deviant sexually. She had introduced the entire group to the bisexual lifestyle, and each was strangely devoted to her. Julie could have asked for a break to go visit her parents, but instead wanted to do something to win Renée's favor.
“What do you want, Julie?” asked Pepper.
“We've all been hearing how Renée spared their two lives at that home invasion. I think they should each give her a thank you kiss to express their appreciation, a French kiss!”
Renée perked up at the suggestion. The sisters looked over at Pepper for some support. Pepper merely shrugged her shoulders, sat in a nearby chair, and turned on another table lamp.
“What's the big deal?” asked Ashley and Laura, showing Renée their support. “It's just a frigging kiss!”
Flustered, but willing to do such a simple thing for help finding her sister, Karlee showed signs of giving in and inched closer to Renée.
Sensing an element of control, Renée seized the moment and added, “naked.”
The others turned on a few more of the table lamps, then positioned themselves to comfortably observe the performance.
“You want our help badly enough to have come all the way to Thailand,” Renée pointed out. “Julie isn't asking much. It's just us girls here, and you know you are alive solely due to my good graces. The sooner you get it done, the sooner you learn about this Kacey girl.”
Both sisters began unbuttoning their tops. The five prisoners and Pepper looked on intently. The tops dropped to the floor, shoes came off, skirts were unbuttoned.
“Underwear, too,” said Renée with a wry smirk.
A moment later, a nude Karlee sat next to her on the large sofa. The two exchanged a passionate French kiss. Renée extended her hand to Kristie who then joined them, sitting on the other side. As everyone was distracted with the kissing, Julie mischievously gathered up and hid all the clothing.
“Which one of you double tapped those two rounds into that gangster's crotch?”
“I did,” said Kristie. “He tried to rape me.”
“No explanation is needed, honey. What do you say we take this kissing session to the next level, you two?”
“That will never happen,” said Kristie.
“Tsk, tsk. I'm a patient woman. Okay, Julie, tell our new friends what you know.”
“I'm part of a group of people that gain fame by hacking government agencies, the more secret the agency, the more the fame. Kacey won the computer hacker of the year award and made the cover of Hacker Magazine!”
“That explains why our enemies would want to have control of her,” said Pepper.
“May we get dressed now?” asked Karlee.
“That's up to Julie,” said Renée. “Ask her.”
“I want to add in a tasting,” said Julie.
“Not today,” said Renée. “Soon though hopefully.”
Kristie took her turn and asked, “Julie, may we put our clothes back on now?”
“No, you need to mingle among us awhile first. We don't want Renée to have all the fun.”
“Where are my clothes? I'm getting dressed!” announced Karlee.
“Good luck with that,” chuckled Julie. “I hid them.”
Several hours had already passed and dawn was breaking. Two of the Royal Guards barged in unannounced with the girls' breakfast, accompanied by Princess Lei.
“Everyone on your feet in the presence of Her Royal Highness!” ordered one of the soldiers.
“What's going on here?” she asked, ogling the two naked guests.
“Just a little female-bonding, Your Highness,” she responded, with the hint of a giggle. “These are the Americans I told you about.”
“They've hidden our clothes, Your Highness.”
“Well, how did they get them in the first place?”
The sisters blushed, speechless, as her armed, over-sized Laotian guards gave them an intimidating glare and as she walked behind them. She pinched each on her butt, peeking over their shoulders to see their response.
“You Americans are such a fun and unusual people. I wish to visit America one day,” the princess declared. Then she turned and looked at the clothed prisoners.
“You five, what is the penalty for causing Royal displeasure?”
“Prison, Your Highness,” they responded in unison.
“And if you piss-off Pepper?”
“Prison, Your Highness.”
“I just dropped in to see if the accommodations are satisfactory.” She ogled the nude sisters as she asked, “Is there any reason for me to be displeased?”
“No, Your Highness.”
“Good, carry on then. Pepper, stop by my chambers when you have time. Good day, everyone.” She and Pepper exchanged a sultry glance.
As soon as she was gone, Pepper said “You two, she said she wants to visit America. It may not seem like it, but you may have just helped shift the balance of world power in our favor. That's a big deal, an Oval-Office-big-deal,” she beamed. She then glared at Julie.
“Fetch, Julie!”
Julie retrieved the clothes, and the eight of them continued bonding over breakfast.
“The sisters have us all wanting to help them, isn't that right, ladies?” asked Pepper.
“Yes, ma'am.”
“I'm initiating Operation Kacey. We'll use Renée's Colorado cabin as a base.
Due to the media coverage of the Oscars, these people probably have made the connection between you and Kacey, assuming they even have her. Become brunettes, start wearing glasses. Renée, start putting out feelers; find us some connections. We can sell you as anti-government. You're all over the Internet as mob-connected.”
“They probably made what connection?” asked Julie.
“She's our little sister, but it was a well-kept family secret until yesterday. We've never met her.”
A look of dismay spread across the room.
A few days later, they were unpacking in the remote cabin.
“There's not room for eight people here,” observed Karlee. “There's just one bedroom.”
“The five of us will take the bedroom. You three bunk out here,” said Renée.
“We'll leave the door open, though,” Julie suggestively added.
“If we're going to sell this, we'll need our guns, Pepper,” Renée requested.
“Guns are on their way,” said Pepper. “I've had nine sleeping bags shipped here, so no one needs the bedroom for anything except storage. We're going to build a fire tonight and all sleep out here together in the main room.”
“It's my cabin, so my rules,” declared Renée. “You guys can have Julie if you want.”
“If that's how you feel, I'm confiscating this cabin under the RICO act,” Pepper said.
“Actually, it belongs to my step-dad,” said Jessie.
“No difference; he's as guilty as the rest of you. You all made that family hit together for Cicero. That subjects you to the RICO act.”
Renée continued to insist things be done her way. The sisters felt uneasy at being outnumbered and were glad everyone was unarmed, for now.
Tired of the arguing, Ashley offered, “Pepper, do you want me to kick her ass for you?”
“I thought you'd be taking her side on everything.”
“Nah, I'm happier taking orders from you. Last year, I got tired of all Renée's domination bullshit and showed her she's not so tough.”
“You did?”
“I'm a martial artist. I used pressure points to make her be submissive. We went to the sundeck on her roof and I had my way with her. Jessie and Laura came up to watch the sunset, and watched us, too.”
They nodded their confirmation. When no one else objected to Pepper's directions, Renée relented. A fire was built, pizzas were devoured, and a few joints were rolled.
“We're glad you're cool with the marijuana, Pepper,” said one of the five.
“I can bend the rules. A tree that does not bend in the wind, breaks.”
“An Asian proverb?”
“Probably. I'm American, I don't know.”
As the flames flickered and as everyone got more relaxed, Julie asked “Karlee, Kristie, have you ever killed an innocent?”
“Do you consider bankers with their big bail-out bonuses innocents?” asked Kristie.
“NO,” came the united response.
“Well, then we haven't.”
“Everyone in this room is a murderer. We can do some serious bonding over that for starters,” Pepper informed the gathering. “We're going to discuss several of the hits you all have done. I've spoken at length with most of you, and used the Patriot Act to access many of your private emails, so I already know many of your secrets. Let's put our cards on the table tonight, so that we all can know who we will be working with, who we will each be entrusting our lives to, as we work together to rescue Kacey and other projects.”
“Is that why the ninth sleeping bag?”
“In case one of you wets the bed, we'll have a spare,” she said sarcastically.
“Who wants to go first? Shall we start with the hit on Misty's family or the hit on the banker? Details on Wanda and the Lieutenant Governor are also on the agenda tonight.”
The group of young woman exchanged a few startled, blank stares.
“I know more than any of you think, and I already have you incriminated, each of you, so you can speak freely. I'm the one in control here, you are all mine, so now let's get comfortable with that fact and move forward with some story sharing,” said Pepper.
“What do you know about the banker?” Karlee asked.
“You thought it was the man's wife that hired you. Wrong, it was me. I know Alexei the same as you and Laura do. I spent a year with him a long time ago. As you know, he gets contracts from mobsters and governments alike. When it's our government, it's often from me. You both murdered the man. I can nail you for it if you won't work with me.”
“I have a license-to-kill,” Karlee responded dismissively.
“Who do you think signed-off on that, Missy?”
“The NSA.”
“They requested it, I authorized it. It can go away just as easily. Of course if it does, those digital voice matches of you at the Lieutenant Governor's will come back to haunt you.”
“That was you?!” Ashley blurted out. “I saw you on TV, that was so cool!”
The sisters squirmed uncomfortably as Pepper redirected the conversation.
“Which one of you pulled the trigger on Wanda? I have my suspicions, but want to know for sure.”
“It was Jessie,” Ashley informed her. “She pretended to be a college student returning home with a load of dirty laundry. When the two of them passed in the underground garage, she dropped the clothes, turned around and pumped two rounds into the back of Wanda's head. She dropped like the sack of manure that she was.” They high-fived one another.
“How did you meet the woman who hired you?” asked Pepper.
“We kidnapped her from a high-end shopping mall for ransom, then took her back to Renée's place for an evening of sex. The next day she offered us a lot of money to kill her business partner Wanda. We did our research and took the contract.”
“I want to hear more about this night of sex,” requested a curious Kristie.
“It was what we call a tasting party. It was like a wine-tasting, only different, if you get my drift,” she said with a suggestive wink.
“Renée, tell us about the Misty hit. That's where Ashley came on board, isn't it?”
“Misty was white-trash. She was Cicero's private call girl. Like all men, he did his thinking with his dick and gave her a big diamond engagement ring. To make a long story short, she ran off with her boyfriend, kept the quarter-million-dollar ring, he put out a hit and they went into Witness Protection. When Ashley had been researching her Master's Thesis, she saw me in all the photos with Cicero and wanted to meet me. She had already wormed her way into Misty's life and become her brother's girlfriend, and when an opportunity opened up, she anonymously tipped Cicero, who called on me to take care of it by giving the entire family flying lessons from a hi-rise condo.”
“She left out the fun stuff,” said Ashley. “When they invaded the condo, they made us all strip. Jessie had the hots for me and pulled me aside, saying that if I could make her smile, she'd be my friend and I might survive the night. There's only one way to do that, and they rearranged the dining room chairs so that everyone could watch. Fifteen minutes later....”
“It was well over an hour,” Renée interrupted.
“Oh, well I lost track of time. Anyway, an hour later, she whispers that the hit is only for the family and if I push Johnny off the balcony for them, they'll let me live, otherwise I join him. I lured him out there with the promise of first-time sex before we died. While we worked up the courage to do it on the ledge, we stood together on a bench. When Renée, Jessie and her now step-dad Danny gave me the signal, I pushed Johnny over the edge. When his mom heard him scream, she rushed out onto the twenty-story balcony, followed by Renée, who pushed her off, too.”
“Oh my gosh, you guys are lethal!” said Kristie. “Then what happened?”
“They fired a fatal round into the dad, he had already been knee-capped, and then had Misty and her fiancé get up on the ledge. Renée informed them that Mr. Cicero's wedding present was flying lessons. They held ha
nds as she taught them how to fly off a hi-rise balcony. I thought I might be next as I cowered nude in front of them, but they threw me my clothes and took me with them. The rest is history. What about you, Pepper? Tell us what kind of woman we'll be taking orders from.”
“For me, it's all about power, not sex. I use sex as a tool to get what I want, with a man or a woman. I'm a power-whore. My plan is to run the CIA, and this thing with the princess is going to lock that up for me. Once I'm CIA Director, I'm going to use that as a platform to take me into political office just like H.W. did.”
“Who's H.W.?” asked Julie.
“The first George Bush,” said Laura. “He went from CIA Director to Vice-President to President.”
“I need an off-the-books team to help me along my journey to power, and that's where you guys come in.”
“You've got us on the official CIA payroll,” Laura pointed out.
“Not yet, but I plan to, and you'll be coded as black-ops and top secret, so even an act of Congress won't reveal details.”
“Oh, this is cool. I'm liking it,” said Jessie.
“You're quite the manipulator, Pepper,” said Karlee. “Are you behind our sister's abduction?”
“I can neither confirm nor deny, but what I can tell you is that I know she's close to here. We'll all be working together on a need-to-know basis, and you now know everything you need-to-know. Oh, and Renée, in case you have any ideas of not cooperating, I have an IRS team ready to investigate your Uncle Chip, aka Charles Cicero. If anything happens to me, or if you piss me off and somehow avoid prison, I send in the IRS to do an extensive audit, informing Cicero that you ratted him out as part of a plea agreement. That's how the government took down Capone, so he'll believe it.”
“Yeah, I get it. I'll be a good girl. I just want the chance to spend time with my dad.”
“That goes for us, too,” added Karlee. “Once this is done, we'll need family time with our parents, all five of us together!”
“That's fine, we'll all be getting what we want. Don't worry, ladies. Any questions?”
“I have one,” said Julie. “Will you make the sisters take their clothes off again? That's what I want.”